Scrumptious Sweet Spring Rolls

On Sunday night I was invited to a singles cooking class at Sur La Table. The event was put on by Parties That Cook, a company that promotes team building partnerships through cooking. After a quick lesson, where the chef taught us basic cooking skills, we broke into 7 groups, each one assigned to a different portion of the meal. My group was evenly paired, two boys and two gals - one of the boys later confessed that he had determined he would be in whatever group I was in - and we were in charge of making dessert: banana and mango spring rolls with caramel-rum dipping sauce. Sound difficult? It's not! You can put this divine, tropical dessert together in no time. Look at the recipe, and a gallery of pics from the event, just read more

Sauté for about 2 minutes until the fruit softens slightly. Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl.

Let cool slightly.

Mix in the toasted macadamia nuts and coconut right before ready to make the rolls.

Make rolls: Place 1 spring roll wrapper on work surface in diamond shape (1 pointed end toward you and 1 pointed end in opposite direction). Cut off 2 inches of the end pointed towards you. Place 2-3 Tablespoons of the fruit mixture in the center. Fold bottom pointed corner of spring roll wrapper up over fruit, then fold in sides over fruit. Brush unfolded part of spring roll wrapper with beaten egg. Roll up wrapper, enclosing fruit completely. The spring roll should look like a log. Place on a cooling rack over a sheet pan. Repeat with remaining spring roll wrappers and fruit mixture.

Bring mixture to simmer over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves and starts to bubble and turn darker brown. Add coconut milk and whisk until mixture is smooth.

Fry Rolls: Working in 2 batches, add spring rolls to medium-hot oil and cook until golden brown and crisp, turning often, about 5 minutes per batch.

Using a skimmer, transfer spring rolls to a cooling rack over a sheet pan. Keep warm in a 200ºF oven until ready to eat.

Slice spring rolls on an angle using a serrated knife. Place sliced spring roll on a serving platter. Sprinkle with coconut, confectioner’s sugar and garnish with mint. Serve caramel-rum sauce in a bowl for dipping.